The second volume of the classic BBC series Ghost Stories for Christmas is set for release on Blu Ray on 20 November 2023.
Broadcast in the dying hours of Christmas Eve, the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas series was a fixture of the seasonal schedules throughout the 1970s and spawned a long tradition of chilling tales, which terrified yuletide viewers for decades to come. For many fans, they are still a traditional Christmas-time watch. Volume 2 contains the remaining original instalments – The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, The Ash Tree, The Signalman, Stigma and The Ice House – all newly remastered from original film materials and presented on Blu-ray for the first time. Later adaptations of A View From a Hill and Number 13 are also included, plus new and archive extras and a booklet.
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974): directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, original story by MR James, starring Sheila Dunn, Anne Blake, Frank Mills
The Ash Tree (1975): directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, original story by MR James, starring Edward Petherbridge, Preston Lockwood, Barbara Ewing
The Signalman (1976): directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, original story by Charles Dickens, starring Denholm Elliott, Bernard Lloyd, Reginald Jessup
Stigma (1977): directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, original story by Clive Exton, starring Kate Binchy, Peter Bowles, Maxine Gordon
The Ice House (1978): directed by Derek Lister, original story by John Bowen, starring John Stride, Elizabeth Romilly, Geoffrey Burridge
Special features
· Newly remastered by the BFI
· Newly recorded audio commentary for The Treasure of Abbot Thomas by writer and broadcaster Simon Farquhar
· Newly recorded audio commentary for The Ash Tree by writer and TV historian Jon Dear, incorporating material from author and editor Johnny Mains
· Newly recorded audio commentary for The Signalman by Jon Dear and actor and writer Mark Gatiss
· Newly recorded audio commentaries for Stigma and The Ice House by writer Kim Newman and writer and filmmaker Sean Hogan
· A View From a Hill (2005, 39 mins, SD)
· Number 13 (2006, 40 mins)
· Spectres, Spirits & Haunted Treasure: Adapting M R James (2023, 17 mins): newly commissioned video essay by Nic Wassell exploring some of the classic BBC adaptations
· Introductions by Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012, 39 mins total): the director of seven of the BBC’s classic A Ghost Story for Christmas episodes discusses his part in the last four instalments he directed
· Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee – Number 13 (2000, 30 mins): Ronald Frame’s adaptation of MR James’s story is brought to life by the horror maestro
- ***First pressing only*** Illustrated booklet with essays by Alex Davidson, Dick Fiddy, Simon Farquhar and Helen Wheatley; credits and notes on the special features
Pre-order Ghost Stories for Christmas Volume 2.
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